In the world of software keyboards, Swype has always been the odd man out. In this case, however, that's not necessarily a bad thing, because people who love Swype are emphatic about it. With the latest beta, Swype is now set to take on the entire world of software keyboards, as it has transformed into "four kinds of keyboard," thanks to Nuance.

How is this a four-in-one option? Firstly, you have the traditional Swype method of, well...

A new beta update for Swype has begun rolling out and will hit tester's handsets over the next 72 hours. The big changes, if you couldn't tell by the title, are Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) support and the integration of Dragon GO! - unsurprising, since Swype was purchased by Nuance and Dragon Dictation support has been rolled in since December. Specifically, the update adds functionality to the "Dragon" key which allows users to dictate speech using the infamous engine, as well as launch the Dragon GO!

Nuance, the company behind Dragon Dictation, bought out Swype almost three months ago, but the results of the deal haven't really been exposed since. No longer -- Swype has just been updated with a "Dragon Flame" key that, when pressed, initiates a voice-to-text system provided by none other than Dragon Dictation. In its current form, it features support for French, Italian, German, and English, with Swype representatives claiming more languages are on the way in 2012.

A new beta version of Swype for Android, version 3.26, has been released, with the chief improvements being automatic updates, 11 new languages, a refined key layout, and enhanced settings in help. Now that they've nearly doubled the number of supported languages, the Swype package has been broken into four: one each for the Americas, Western and Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, and one for all regions.

Nuance Communications. You probably know them as the company that makes Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech recognition program. Well, they have another little known side project: Nuance loves keyboards. Like, really loves keyboards.

They own the T9 typing style and the company that invented it. They have their own Android keyboard called Flex T9. A little over a year ago, they bought Shapewriter, Swype's main competitor.

Greetings, dear reader! Tell me, how happy are you with your current keyboard? Autocorrect got you down? Looking for something a little different? Well, AP is here to help. Crack those knuckles and wipe down that screen, 'cause we're doing a keyboard shootout.

I'll bet you the keyboard is your most used app, and you don't even realize it. Just think of all the searches, texts, and notes you poke out on a daily basis.

As promised yesterday, the Swype team have released an update to the beta version of their keyboard that brings all of the same features as the recent NS4G-exclusive version, including gestures, personal dictionary, and a new feature called Swype Connect.

Swype Connect is a lightweight background service that collects Swype-specific data and ensures the integrity and validity of the installation, while reporting usage details and device information back to Swype's servers.

In an official communication with the company, we've been told that the Sprint-exclusive update to Swype on the Nexus S 4G will be coming to the Swype beta channel for all supported handsets this week.

The update will lack the nifty Sprint-specific skin of the Nexus S 4G version, but will contain the improved capitalization, the Swype-specific personal dictionary, and the new gesture support for launching apps like Twitter and Facebook, as well as editing text in a quick and efficient manner by providing gesture shortcuts for select all, cut, copy, and paste.

Update: At the request of Swype, we have removed the links to this ported version of Swype for the Nexus S 4G because of licensing concerns regarding the Sprint branding. Also, because this same update will be rolled out on Swype Beta for all devices this week. Check out the announcement, here.

Just about a week ago, Sprint let Nexus S 4G owners in on a new version of Swype that improved capitalization of proper nouns, spruced up the UI, and introduced shortcut gestures (see the video below).

Update: The EVO Shift 4G will be getting this OTA on the 17th if you initiate the update check manually, and by June 20th, it should start rolling out to all devices automatically! So be on the lookout for it on Friday.